Other Lands – Pattern Transform

Firecracker Recordings mainstay Gavin Sutherland has long been an ambassador for some of the most inventive electronic music Edinburgh has to offer. Releasing on labels like Rush Hour and Prime Numbers, productions under his Fudge Fingas alias have generally garnered widespread acclaim. But while those outings drew from a combination of sultry, soulful and otherworldly popularised by the American Midwest – specifically producers hailing from Chicago and Detroit – his newly adopted alias takes on a comparably amorphous, outlandish dimension.

Beginning with a Carpenter-esque electronic pulse, ‘Descent into Nasqueron’s haunting atmospherics are apparent right from the very start. Eerie effects are draped across the soundscape and act as sirens from another realm, lending the entire sonic construction an air of the otherworldly. ‘Chapel Perilous Closed’ follows suit, with its truly ominous and evocative synth tones gradually progressing into a slow, spacious rhythm. Subtle yet effective percussion coming into play as things progress, it makes for one of the EP’s most reflective moments.

In the closest thing to a reprise of the mood on previous Sutherland releases, ‘Late Feeling Yourself’ opts for some jazzy, downtempo vibes, delivering the record’s most unabashed groove. Whilst it’s a more conventional dance track, it definitely retains the oddball charm which permeates throughout each cut. ‘A Paddle Around the Drowned World’ then rounds things off with some properly languid vibes: its chirping melodic flourishes and meditative drums once again help to visualise the world that Other Place is trying to convey through music – a most fitting artistic name for this incredibly intriguing new project.

Pattern Transform is out now on Firecracker Recordings – buy in vinyl here or digital direct from the label.